how do you wean from bottles?

The pedi didn't really give us very specific advice about it today....he did say we could go cold turkey if we want, but I don't think I'm up to that. I read somewhere that it's easiest to take out the middle of the day bottle 1st? What did you do? A friend of mine just started mixing milk in with the formula gradually, until it was all milk.

I'm so scared to do this, b/c I'm worried I won't know how much food to give them!

 

Ok first, where do you stand on sippies?

Do they drink well out of them?

What do they drink out of them? Water? Formula? Milk?

How many bottles are you still giving now?

 

Hi. I'm curious about this as well for when the girls turn 12 months. When do I start putting milk in their sippy? Right now they get water in it. They can hold it but prefer that I hold it. I bet if it had formula in it they would hold it! Should I try it? They currently get 4 6oz bottles per day.

 

Kelly, I would go ahead and give formula in their cups. With my older kids, I only gave water, and when it was time to drop bottles altogether, it was really hard to get them to drink the formula/milk out of the sippy, so with the twins, I am giving them a lot of milk in sippies, hopefully to avoid the problem.

 

I started offering them formula in their sippies around 10-11 months at meal time. I'd say by 11-12 months they were good enough at the sippies that they used them exclusively (no bottles) at all meals and snacks. During that time they still got their night bottle. Around 13 months we stopped giving them the night bottle cold turkey. We did offer them a milk sippy at bedtime and still do. They'll take a few drinks and that's it. Doing it this way seemed to be relatively easy on them.

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ May 1 2007, 12:43 AM) [snapback]239152[/snapback]
Ok first, where do you stand on sippies?

Do they drink well out of them?

What do they drink out of them? Water? Formula? Milk?

How many bottles are you still giving now?


They do pretty good with sippies, as long as they're the right kind. We just started using a new one with a straw & they're doing really well with that one, too.

Mostly water from the sippies, occasionally water with juice.

About 3 bottles a day, usually 8 oz each

 

I would first start by putting milk into their sippies. Once you have them drinking their milk well out of the sippies I would go ahead and start dropping bottles. And just do what you feel comfortable with. I did cold turkey with all of my kids, meaning went from 3 bottles to zero in a day, and it always went well. Usually the hardest one to give up is that nighttime bottle, because it's usually comforting for them. As far as knowing how much to feed them...they will let you know! They will definately require more food, maybe offer a couple of snacks, a mid-morning and mid-afternoon, depending on how your schedule is set up. Good luck, I bet you will be surprised at how well they do! :hug99: